Time managementPaper28 Oct 2026

More intensive summer treatment helped teens stay organised four years later

HelpedThe short version

Four years later, parents said teens in the more intensive programme were more organised.

The study

Who took part
218 students with ADHD who were starting sixth or ninth grade. About 3 in 4 were boys in the more intensive group, and 7 in 10 in the less intensive group.
What they did
The more intensive group had an eight-week summer programme, 45 hours a week, with daily calls home to parents. The less intensive group had a 1.5-hour organisation skills group each week for eight weeks. Both groups' parents had 12 hours of training.
What happened
Four years later, teens in the more intensive group had fewer organisation problems, as their parents rated them. Ninth graders in that group also had fewer ADHD symptoms than other ninth graders, but sixth graders did not differ. Grades and teachers' ratings of organisation were about the same in both groups.

HelpedTime management
Four years later, parents said teens in the more intensive programme were more organised.
Randomised trial of 218 teens with ADHD in a school district · vs teens in the less intensive version · they rated themselves · ⚠ numbers unreliable
MixedOther outcomes
Ninth graders in the more intensive group had fewer ADHD symptoms four years on, but sixth graders did not.
Randomised trial of 218 teens with ADHD in a school district · vs the less intensive group · they rated themselves · ⚠ numbers unreliable
No differenceGoals
Grades four years later were about the same in both groups.
Randomised trial of 218 teens with ADHD in a school district · vs the less intensive version · they rated themselves · ⚠ numbers unreliable